October 09, 2016

One of the lasting tropes of the Vietnam era was that most American soldiers and police were blood-thirsty savages of low intellect who would do whatever their commanders told them to, regardless of how cruel or immoral.

This trope was spread via movies and politics, and John Kerry was one of the lead advocates. (Coincidentally, Kerry also helped create the other trope – that of the moral, “outsider” G.I./cop who is part of the madness but resists it.)

This insulting and fictional belief should have gone the way of leisure suits orange shag carpet, but it continually gets renewed. Long-time readers will perhaps remember the attempt by the left to resurrect the “US troops are baby killers” theme in Iraq.

So now the new hotness is police brutality. All cops – even the black ones, apparently – are filled with bigotry and hate, merely looking for excuses to kill otherwise harmless black people.

It’s pretty clear that this concept is being pushed by the Clinton campaign’s allies in a desperate attempt to fire up the black vote and get them to turn out for an elderly, privileged white women with whom they have nothing in common and whose policies will ensure that they are ultimately replaced by Middle Eastern and Central American immigrants.

That’s a tough sell, hence the race-baiting and trying to smear Trump as a Klansman.

One of their tools is disrespecting the national anthem. After all, what better way to win people over than by disrespecting something they value?

I think Dale Carnegie has this in his book “How to Win Friends and Influence People by Spitting in their Faces.”

Sane observers have perhaps marveled at how Democrat elites could push this dangerous and violence-provoking propaganda given that our elites are now uniquely vulnerable to societal disruption. Is there anyone more in need of protection from the wretched of the earth and college professors and tech millionaires?

It never crosses their mind that at some point the low-class goons that make up the law enforcement community might decide that maybe taking a pullet for their “betters” isn’t on their to-do list.

Like all societal shifts, it starts slowly. For example, local cops often volunteer to provide additional security for their communities. Funny, if you piss them off, they won’t volunteer any more.

There’s been a fair amount of talk about military coups, most of which is the usual hyperventilation of campaign season. Put bluntly, I find it highly unlikely that tanks will ever roll on Washington or anywhere else.

A far more plausible scenario is where the class warfare of the elites has backfired and the mob decides to loot their mansions for a change. At that point the security forces are called out and do….nothing.

Revolutions often work like this – the Cossacks are orders to charge the demonstrators and refuse. They may even take the side of the protestors.

Such an action might not even be illegal. Despite the liberal tropes mentioned above, US troops are keenly aware that they are obligated not to execute unlawful orders.

It’s often said that we have some of the worst ‘elites’ in history, and this is a great example of just how stupid and blinks our current leadership is.

Out in the world of hard knocks, the ruling class understands that their very survival depends on the good will of their security personnel. Saddam Hussein made sure that his Special Republican Guard received the most lavish comforts, best equipment and highest pay. He was never stupid enough to denigrate them in any way (he might purge their leaders, but that’s another story).

He understood that they were his first and last line of defense. Without their goodwill, he was nothing.

The official response to this loss of subscriptions (and therefore revenue) is a cloud of blather about “principles.”

This from people who make a living selling crash photos and carrying Kardashian gossip.

I don’t begrudge them their trade, after all everyone has to make a living. What’s funny is that their preferred way of making that living is driving their tottering businesses into bankruptcy.

Great job, guys.

The irony is that this is supposedly because of their “editorial page independence,” which is in current practice expects the reader to believe that the owner has nothing whatever to do with the content of his media property.

Yeah, I know, hilarious.

Once upon a time, no one bothered with this blatant lie. Papers had a known political position and stood by them. The newspaper barons of old were famous (and infamous) for their open willingness to shape the news. In the U.K., they still largely are. No one has any illusions that the Guardian or Telegraph are neutral.

That’s why we read them, in fact, to find out the ‘party line’ from the various factions.

Yet here in the States, someone got the bright idea that people would pay for a product that regularly insults them and pisses them off.

Only in America.

In many ways, this is a larger version of what’s about to happen with The Weekly Standard and National Review – no one is going to pay for yet another version of the same thing you can find anywhere else.

The whole point of the Detroit News (for example) is that it is the right-wing counterpart to the liberal Detroit Free Press.

Now both of these publications are on life support, sustained by the twin pillars of a joint operating agreement that creates a duopoly and a successful lockout that broke their employee unions in the 1990s.

So who cares if they drift a little lower down the drain? Their trajectory isn’t really in doubt.

October 02, 2016

It's been a while since I posted about my beloved Michigan State Spartans. Since obsessing about the presidential election might drive me insane, now is a good time to talk football.

Michigan State is the defending Big Ten football champion, but it is clear the Spartans won't be able to repeat this year. They simply lost too many talented players through graduation last year. Saturday night's 24-21 loss in overtime to the mediocre Indiana Hoosiers was just the latest disappointment in what looks like it might be the worst season for MSU since 2012 (7-6 overall; 3-5 Big Ten).

In the opening game back on Sept. 2, the Spartans looked listless and struggled to defeat tiny Furman University, 28-13. Furman is now 0-5. After a bye week, the Spartans looked like the real deal, winning at Notre Dame, 36-28. It turns out that wasn't such an impressive victory after all, as the Fighting Irish are now 2-3 and have a porous defense. Last week, the Wisconsin Badgers visited East Lansing and spanked the Spartans, 30-6. And don't look now, but arch-rival MEEEECHIGAN just defeated those same Badgers, 14-7 on Saturday.

I admit, I have not been able to watch a couple of the games. My wife and I cut way back on our satellite TV coverage to save money, and I no longer get ESPN or the Big Ten Network. But I do read about the team and pay attention to what fans are saying on the forums. It appears to me that, although the Spartan defensive line has not had a lot of success pressuring opposing quarterbacks, the linebackers are solid and the secondary is respectable.

The offensive line is my number one concern. It doesn't seem to open up the big holes for running backs, and doesn't provide pass protection nearly as well as in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Three former O-line starters -- Jack Allen, Jack Conklin and Donavon Clark -- are now in the NFL. So are former starting quarterback Connor Cook and wide receiver Aaron Burbridge.

Current quarterback Tyler O'Connor appears competent, but must avoid taking sacks like he did last night. Being a good quarterback means not just effectively commanding the offense and being accurate with passes, it also means knowing whether to tuck & run when the heat is on, or just throw the ball away to avoid taking a sack. Last night's sacks pushed the Spartans farther away from field goal range and caused them to come up empty-handed in overtime. This cannot continue.

The season is still young, and I have been spectacularly wrong before. Two years ago, after Virginia Tech upset Ohio State early in the season, I complained about that loss and several other Big Ten teams either losing to squads from smaller conferences (e.g., Central Michigan crushing Purdue) or barely beating weak teams (e.g., Nebraska scoring a tie-breaking touchdown with 20 seconds left to defeat McNeese State).

I wrote:

"It was delusional to think that a Big Ten team would win the national championship this season, and frankly it could be a long, long time until one does."

A few months later, Ohio State beat Alabama in the national championship semifinal, then defeated Oregon in the championship game. That crow was actually pretty tasty!

So I hope I am wrong in being pessimistic about this year's Spartans. Michigan and Ohio State at home, and even Penn State on the road promise to be daunting challenges. This Saturday's opponent, Brigham Young, is also no slouch. But I just need to have faith in head coach Mark Dantonio, who has proven himself to be great at evaluating and developing talented players, and an excellent coach.